Seniors inspire Cadets
Chandler scores 28 points as Albany Academy defeats Vermont state champion
ALBANY — Senior Day can sometimes be a tricky proposition for an athletic team to deal with. There is a pregame ceremony when each player is honored and takes pictures and spends time with family. Quickly afterward, there is a game to be played. The Albany Academy boys’ basketball team navigated such activities Saturday afternoon and proceeded to deliver a quality performance.
First-year coach Jim Driggs rolled out an all-senior starting five to open the contest against Rice Memorial. Considering the Cadets have nine seniors, it meant a couple of the team’s top players did not start. In a contest in which Driggs used 14 players, standouts young and old combined to produce a 71-62 victory over the Green Knights.
“It is a must-win game for us. It was great for all the seniors,” Gianni DiCerbo said. “It was a great win.”
“I thought the guys played hard and we had a lot of contributions from a lot of seniors, actually, on Senior Day. That was nice,” Driggs said. “A lot of those guys have given a lot to the program. I thought we did some good things on offense and defense from the second part of the second quarter to the beginning of the fourth quarter.”
Albany Academy started the game with Finn Conway, DiCerbo, Mallachy Ings, Brooks Brennan and Payton Dott on the court. The Cadets (11-4), rankedNo. 13 in the latest Class A state poll, produced their seventh straight victory Saturday. Albany Academy trailed briefly at the start, but a 3-pointer by Conway provided a 6-4 lead. After Rice Memorial tied the game, the Cadets went on a 12-2 run and ended up 18-11 after one quarter.
“Honestly, we have a lot of depth on our team,” said Albany Academy senior Bobby Chandler, who led the way with 28 points. “It was good to see the seniors
play a lot too because they are some guys where you don’t see their work in practice. I am glad I got to see my teammates play.”
Chandler, Albany Academy’s leading scorer, came in and tallied seven points in the opening quarter and then added eight more in the second period as the Cadets built a 42-26 halftime advantage. Sophomore reserve forward Arthur Foster also scored eight points in the second quarter for Albany Academy. He produced back-to-back three-point plays that extended the lead from 33-26 to 39-26. Foster finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four steals.
“He is so talented,” said DiCerbo, the Albany Academy senior point guard, of Foster.
“Big steals and also some huge rebounds,” Driggs said. “He is a tough kid. He has some athleticism. He had a couple of big finishes too. I was happy with the way Arthur played the game.”
The Green Knights (10-1) have captured three straight Vermont state titles. They missed on seven of their first eight shots of the third quarter and DiCerbo completed a three-point play to put the Cadets up 55-31.
“Gianni is a tough kid. I am happy when he plays well because he has been such a great teammate and he did a really good job leading as a point guard both defensively and offensively,” Driggs said. “He has had a lot of injuries and illnesses this season, so being a little bit more healthy was big.”
Rice Memorial made things interesting by connecting on its last four shots of the third quarter and then going 7for-8 to open the fourth quarter to trim the deficit to 63-55. Senior guard Daniel Bogre, who scored the opening 10 points of the fourth quarter for the Green Knights, later scored in the paint to reduce Albany Academy’s lead to 65-59.
In need of a basket to stem the tide, Albany Academy got it from freshman Jack Louridas, who poured in a 3-pointer.
“Jack Louridas knocked down a huge 3. He brought our offense back to life because we were dead,” Chandler said.
“They are a program that wins a lot of games. I knew they were going to make a run. I didn’t think it would be that big, but I am happy with the way we prevailed,” Driggs said.